About The Town
by HurricaneWhip
Summary: This will just be a series of oneshots about the characters from Grand Bazaar as I write them while playing. Chapter 3 - Freya's Idol
1. Chapter 1  Under Amir's Watch

I haven't decided yet, but it's getting more and more likely that this will be a collection of one-shots about Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, as I write them. I'll be using the female version of Grand Bazaar, and her name will be Chelsea (since I like that name from another Harvest Moon Game...and naming her Claire would potentially make things confusing) and she'll be married to Ivan (since that's the only character I have married in this game so far). Even though the main character doesn't really say much, I'll try to keep her personality as close as I can to how the game portrays her.

**Under Amir's Watch**

When Amir first arrived at Zephyr Town, it looked nothing like he had heard about. There were no flowers blooming 'at any which place you looked' (as he had been told by the mayor, Felix), the villagers were not chattering happily to each other, and the excitement about the potential for the next bazaar did not fill the air. He felt a little disappointed and wondered if maybe he should just head back home and start looking for a new place to travel to.

But then again, it _was_ Winter, and Zephyr Town did look beautiful with snow on the ground. And Amir did have to admit he arrived to the town rather late at night, so children would probably be at home enjoying dinner with their family. He decided to give the town a chance. Plus, it was too late to start heading back home anyway.

As he walked along the streets alongside Felix, who had graciously offered to lend him a room at his home for the night before checking him in at the hotel tomorrow, he struck up a conversation with the friendly mayor.

"I apologize for arriving so late at night, but I guess the delay on the train went longer than expected."

Felix just laughed. "Delays happen all the time, there's no need to apologize. Ah, but I wish you could've arrived even just a season earlier. You missed all our flower fields."

"Ah, about that...by the time I had decided I wanted to travel to Zephyr Town, Autumn had arrived, so I had to stay around for my father's birthday. The celebration lasts all month, too."

"The king, huh?"

"Yes." As they approached a mansion, and what Amir could only assume was Felix's home, Amir looked around the small village one last time. At night, the town seemed very lonely, but he could see light through the windows of the other homes, bringing him a sense of warmth. Maybe he would like this place after all.

* * *

The next day, Felix had ushered him out the door early in the morning, much to the bewildered senses of Amir. When he demanded answers while near literally being pulled along the streets, Felix mumbled something about meeting someone to show him around town.

After a 20-minute walk through the town, passing all the homes, a cafe and a general store, Amir was beginning to worry he had made a mistake. He was no longer in the populated centre of Zephyr Town, he had passed a cabin and a waterfall, and he still hadn't encountered the person Felix said he wanted him to meet. Panic was beginning to set in. Had he made a mistake in trusting a complete stranger? Amir was a prince, after all. Plenty of people had tried to take advantage of his status for one reason or another. Amir looked around waiting for a good chance to start making a run for it.

But before he could make his escape, a moderately sized house entered his view surrounded by fields. A white cat lazed about on the rooftop eyeing the chickens that roamed in an outdoor pin nearby, while a large, black dog ran around a few cows and sheep, wagging its tail joyfully.

"A...farm?" he couldn't help but ask outloud.

"The girl who lives here arrived to Zephyr Town in the early Spring of this year and she's been a great help to our bazaar. I'd like her to show you around town since she offers a newer perspective to this place than an older resident would," Felix laughed. "I'm sure she'll help you in any way she can. She's a very helpful girl and makes time for everyone."

As they entered the house, Amir encountered his soon-to-be companion. She had wavy, golden-hair with violet eyes the matched her hat. She smiled questioningly as Felix introduced Amir to the young woman, whom he learned was named Chelsea. Amir gave a slight frown when Felix mentioned about his status (he had asked Felix to keep his royalty status a secret), but decided to ignore it for now. Chelsea seemed to agree to not mention it to anyone and she didn't seem to have any aversions to showing him around town. Amir thanked her and left her to her work.

"So you really did want to introduce me to someone..." Amir mumbled, immediately regretting voicing his thoughts.

Felix turned to him and laughed. "Of course. What did you think I was going to do? Kidnap you for ransom?"

Amir suddenly felt his face flush slightly as embarrassment crept across his face. "N-nothing" Quickly regaining his composure, Amir retorted "And you said you wouldn't tell anyone that I'm a prince!"

He didn't know what to expect from Felix, but he didn't think he'd ever see a man so tall and muscular run away as fast as Felix.

* * *

As the days passed on, Amir quickly learned why Felix had written so lovingly of the town he was mayor of. The people were warm and friendly, and the village itself had a charm that his own hometown didn't possess. He couldn't quite pinpoint what that charm was, but it was undeniably there.

Attending the bazaars the village held was both exciting and aggravating. Sometimes he felt like he was being pushed around by other shoppers and at other times he knew he was among the pushier ones, trying to buy that one last item on sale. Finding a new item on sale to send back home as a souvenir was exhilarating. He knew his sister loved receiving things in the mail. Chelsea's bazaar always seemed to have the widest variety of merchandise, so he found himself hanging around her bazaar more often than not. For the first few bazaars he was in attendance, he worried that he was annoying her, but she never once seemed to have a cross face with him. Chelsea would chat animatedly with him when the customers were slow talking to him about all the villagers, the games the children played, what gossip she had heard about from Claire and Nellie and Ivan's love for teaching. To Amir, it was obvious she loved this town very much.

It might have been his imagination, but he felt like a big part of the reason Zephyr Town's bazaar had started regaining a reputation around the world was because of her. While everyone wanted the bazaar to be a success, she seemed to put her whole being into bringing in the customers. She would help out lost children, confused customers who lost their glasses, and people who were hungry even if it meant losing money she could have made off an item. She did yell at a few children who dared to play dangerously around her table but the kids seemed to learn their lesson after that.

Amir smiled as the days went on and he had to admit he enjoyed spending time with Chelsea. He'd write to his sister again today, he decided. He wanted her to know about Chelsea and the bazaar. He discovered he really did like watching her.

* * *

Some days, Amir would visit Chelsea in her home and she'd always greet him with a smile on her face, asking him to stay for dinner and would talk about their day. One evening near the end of winter, she mentioned that spring was soon approaching so her time would become much more limited, but he was still invited anytime. Her face turned a slight red tinge before she continued on, "I'll finally be able to make more of the herb perfume that Ivan likes."

For a moment, Amir didn't say a word and he put down the fork he had been using to eat the delicious stew she had made. He had heard her mention Ivan before, and he was sure he'd seen Ivan around town during the month he'd been in Zephyr Town, but he had never actually met him. Chelsea had explained that Ivan was a tutor in the city a few days during the week, and the weather had been pretty miserable this year, so many residents preferred to stay home if they didn't have work to do. So he didn't pay much attention to this Ivan until now. But, thinking back, he remembered all the times she mentioned this Ivan, he was a subject she spoke about more often than the others. And sometimes her smile would get just a bit brighter while walking along the road. If she found a lavender, she always mentioned about saving it for herb perfume.

He always thought that perfume was for going to be for her or for sale at the bazaar.

Amir watched her movements for another short moment. The smile she had on right now wasn't for him, but for Ivan and all those times she spoke of that man, those smiles were for that man. He wanted to say something to her, but he was at a loss for words. He couldn't help feeling jealous, but he couldn't blame anyone. Ivan met her first, after all. But he could tell her right now, he could tell her how much the time he spent with her meant to him...

After what felt like an eternity, he finally found his voice. "Chelsea, I...I...I hope the herb perfume comes out well," he said with a sad smile before finishing up his stew and getting up from the table. She flashed him a brilliant smile back to him as she gathered the dishes.

* * *

As spring passed on and summer neared its end, Amir had watched Chelsea run about her farm or the town, doing her daily chores. It looked tiresome and sometimes seemed like more work than one person should do, but she never complained. He had once offered to help her out with some of the work, but he quickly discovered himself to be useless with the farming tasks. He scared a cow while trying to milk it and almost received a swift kick to the face from said cow and the sheep just ran circles around him when he tried to shear them. He offered to pay for the plants he had accidentally trampled over trying to water some other plants, but Chelsea had waved him off. She did hurry him off the farm after a day of chaos, though.

Among those days, Amir had finally met Ivan while trying to help at the farm. Ivan seemed harmless enough to Amir, and he was certainly friendly, but Amir still couldn't shake the jealousy that would overtake his mind every once in awhile. He felt left out when those two were together, so he'd quickly excuse himself and go somewhere else in the town.

The two finally announced their engagement and Zephyr Town was abuzz with excitement. There hadn't been a wedding in a long time, so all the women in the village went around gossiping or spending more time at Chelsea's farm as usual to help prepare for the big day. The date had been set for a few days before the end of summer and Amir couldn't help but chuckle a little at the timing. His father's birthday was fast approaching and he'd have to return to his hometown to celebrate. Maybe he'd go home earlier than expected and avoid the wedding...

But with just one request from her, he still attended anyway. Chelsea told him she wanted him there and so there he was. As expected, the entire town attended the wedding and the two looked happier than he had seen either of them. He continued to watch the ceremony and couldn't help but get caught up in the festivities. Amir let out a happy expression and when the party started he could honestly say "Congratulations" to the couple.

Before leaving for home, Amir made one last appearance at Chelsea's (and Ivan's) home. He wanted to say goodbye and thank her for all her hospitality.

For the first time since he'd met her, Chelsea had looked upset. "Are you coming back?"

Looking her in the eye, Amir finally decided to tell her what he had wanted to say for a long time, "I really love... the villagers here and the flowers are spectacular. I'll return when the celebration was over." Okay, so he chickened out. But, he really did learn to love the village. Felix's description of Zephyr Town hadn't done it justice.

He wanted to return to Zephyr Town as soon as he could, and he would. He wanted to continue watching.

Aha, sorry if it seemed a bit quick-paced at the end there. This ended up being much longer than I wanted it to be.


	2. Chapter 2  Sherry's Tree Seed Stand

**Sherry's Tree Seed Stand**

When Chelsea first met Sherry, she got the impression of a sweet, refined lady. Sherry walked around Zephyr Town with a gentle elegance to her step, combined with a soft baby blue dress adorned with a white apron, and matching blue hat with a small array of white flowers pinned to it (that she had been given to by Lloyd, Chelsea had learned) and her long, auburn hair bounced gracefully with each step. She always had a sweet smile on her face when she spoke to people of the town and tried to do whatever she could to help out the villagers, usually going above and beyond what she really had do.

Thinking back, the only time Sherry ever had a frown on her face was when she spoke of her father's cooking. No one else (except perhaps Lloyd), had ever tried the mayor's cooking, but there was unanimous agreement amongst them all: if Sherry didn't like it, no one would. She had great influence throughout the village.

Chelsea would be lying if she said she didn't feel just a bit envious of Sherry. She was beautiful and dignified, and Chelsea felt like she was anything but. Despite this, the two still became fast friends, and always had fun together chatting about the recent going-ons around the town.

As the bazaar grew larger, Sherry opened a tree seed stand. She had mentioned to Chelsea that she wanted to help the bazaar grow larger, but unfortunately this was the best she felt she could do. She seemed determined enough, so Chelsea cheered her on.

Despite her best intentions, Chelsea knew that times would be tough on her sweet friend. Trees took up a lot of space, space that could be used on more valuable crops, and they took a long time to grow, further cutting down on the profits that could be acquired. It would be very difficult for a delicate girl like Sherry.

Unfortunately, Chelsea's suspicions were correct. Few people visited Sherry's stand, and fewer still purchased a bag of seeds. The bazaar grew larger by the week, but Sherry's smile grew smaller. People just didn't want her seeds. Chelsea tried her best to help Sherry out, purchasing a bag or two of the tree seeds every week, but soon she had nowhere to put them all. Villagers began commenting about a new forest arising at her farm, and every day Kevin would find another tree to climb up and cause mischief, forcing Chelsea to spend time trying to get him down. With nowhere else to plant trees, Chelsea began storing the seeds in her storage. She wouldn't try to sell the seeds against Chelsea, and selling them to Raul's general store felt weird, so she just started amassing a collection of tree seeds. But it was getting to be too much.

The invisible dagger in Sherry's heart would consistently get twisted around some more whenever the next morning's announcement hit. Sherry would attend dutifully every week with small hope in her heart that she would finally be amongst the top three earners. But her name was never called. She would always congratulate and thank the top earner for their hard work, but the smile on her face always seemed pained to Chelsea.

As even more seasons passed, the number of customers to Sherry's stand grew even more smaller. Sherry would stand all alone at her tree stand, smiling her usual refined smile, but she grew disheartened with each passing day. But, one week, Sherry's real smile returned. She was going to make sure her tree seed stand rivalled the others!

* * *

Time passed on, and eventually the bazaar of Zephyr Town was known continent-wide. People travelled for weeks to attend the well-known market, said to sell items of extreme rarity and great quality. The number of stands had increased exponentially and competition was tough. Despite Chelsea's own reputation amongst customers, she had a tough time servicing them all and meeting the goal of 150,000-200,000G. One week, she had just missed the goal by a mere 3,000G. _Maybe it's time I cut down a few of those trees..._she thought to herself. Exhausted, she went off to bed, thinking she'd decide what to do the next day.

The next morning, Chelsea attended the morning summary from the mayor. As usual, Sherry stood next to Felix, shining her usual graceful smile. But there seemed to be something different about her. Chelsea didn't sense a tinge of sadness hidden beneath the look, it seemed genuine.

"Did something good happen yesterday at the bazaar?" Chelsea couldn't help but whisper to her friend.

Turning her head to meet Chelsea, Sherry whispered back with a smile, "You could say that."

And that was all they had time to discuss before Felix announced the top three earners of the week. Chelsea let out a small pout. She knew she wouldn't be amongst the top this week, even though she made it so close. It looked like Raul, Lloyd and Joan would be fighting it out for the top this week. Gazing at the crowd, Chelsea noted the usuals, except Raul, which was a strange sight to (not) see. He seemed to consider her one of his rivals and this was a good chance for him to beat her. It was strange.

"In first place with 156,000G...Joan!" Chelsea clapped along with the crowd, thinking it was well-deserved. Joan made fantastic dishes, after all. Chelsea found herself purchasing more than she planned to every time she visited her cafe.

"In second place with 185,000G...Lloyd!" Once again clapping along, Chelsea nodded to herself. Lloyd provided the town and bazaar with many rare ores found around the world. As such, they were very expensive. It was no wonder he was amongst the top weekly.

"And in first place with 215,000G...Sherry!" Chelsea nearly spit out the tea she'd been drinking. Sherry's name was...unexpected, to say the least. When she composed herself, she clapped along with the crowd, while Sherry smiled just as elegantly and thanked everyone for their support.

With that, the meeting was over and Chelsea immediately ran over to Sherry to ask her what she did and how she did it. "Congratulations, though! I can't believe you made such a great turn around, you really deserved it!"

"Ohoho, I have my ways. One day I decided I didn't want to be at the bottom of sales anymore and had to do something about it. And I did," she replied with a sly smile.

Curious, Chelsea tilted her head to one side quizzically. "What do you mean?"

But just as Sherry went to reply, a missing Raul limped his way towards Sherry. But something was off about him. His point hat seemed to be tilted to one side, and he had dirt all over his red poncho. Chelsea wondered if he had tripped on his way to the meeting.

Sherry looked down at him, a small look of worry. "Oh dear..."

Finally he spoke, rather with fear etched in his voice, "Forgive me, Sherry. I didn't mean to sell your tree seeds at my store..."

With a soft smile that seemed to hold a sinister(?) edge to it, Sherry responded, "Oh, that's quite alright, so long as you learned your lesson." And with that, Sherry proceeded to walk home, waving goodbye to Chelsea. "I'll talk to you later, Chelsea!"

It was the first time Chelsea had seen this side of Sherry. No, it had to be impossible, Sherry didn't have an evil side...right? Impossible, impossible, impossible! She had dreamed it all. Any second now, Chelsea would wake up and find herself in her bed. That's what Chelsea would've liked to think, but her mind was only filled with one thought: _**Tree Seed Mafia?**_

Ahaha, I hope you liked this one. ^^ I thought it up last night while playing Grand Bazaar. I finally unlocked 75% of the bazaar, and up until now, Sherry had never been in the top three. It was always between, Raul, Lloyd, Joan and myself so I never considered her much of a contender. Then 75% comes up and BAM! She's in first place with an insane amount of G. It took me off guard. For some reason I got it in my head that maybe, just maybe, Sherry got in with a mafia haha.


	3. Chapter 3 Freya's Idol

**Freya's Idol**

Freya hurriedly walked along the pavement, her pace quickening with each step. Her job in the city had required overtime and she had stayed longer than she would've liked. Freya was used to walking home at night, but during this summer night it seemed extra dark and lonely. Even the animals and insects seemed to have gone to sleep, it had gotten so late. She could even her the _clack, clack, clack_ of her shoes in the steady pace she made. With one last glance at her surroundings and then her watch, Freya nodded to herself with acknowledgement. She was definitely late. She didn't want to be, there were consequences to being late.

Freya ran past the main village, passing Raul's shop, Zephyr's only cafe and her own home. For the moment, Freya had no interest in any of those particular destinations. She did notice Dirk's confused expression as she ran by, however. No doubt he was wondering where all the women went. She hoped he didn't try to follow her.

She passed by Lloyd's home/Mayor Felix's cottage. Lloyd must have returned from his day in the city by now. Sherry had told her once that Lloyd went into the city occasionally to order some ores and rare gems to sell at the bazaar. As Freya started running up the hill, Freya made a mental note to visit his stand next bazaar day. She wanted some of those gems to make a necklace with.

As she reached the clearing, panting for breath and hoping she hadn't ruined her shoes, she finally sighed with relief at having reached her destination. As she lifted her right arm to knock on Chelsea's door, she could hear laughter. Freya's heart sank a bit. It was now well past eleven o'clock at night, and Gossip Night usually started at 10PM. She knew she missed something good.

After a few short seconds after knocking on the door, Freya was greeted by Chelsea, the newest member of Zephyr Town. Ushering her inside quickly, Chelsea welcomed her, "Great, you're finally here! I had something I wanted to talk to you about too but that'll have to wait."

"Sorry about that," Freya apologized, "I had overtime at work."

Chelsea waved her off. "Don't worry, we understand. Though I had a hard time trying to keep everyone from eating all the food."

Laughing, the two took a seat at the dinner table, and they joined the others already eating. It seemed Sherry, Antoinette, and Daisy had decided they couldn't wait a moment longer. With mouths full, they all greeted Freya at the table and the gossip finally began.

Yes, Freya enjoyed Gossip Night almost as much as her career. Once a month the young women of Zephyr Town would gather at a different home and reveal secrets, share recipes, talk about things they had seen around town, or their favourite topic: Raul's latest clumsy attempt to show Marian his feelings. It had become sort of like a secret club between them, originally started by accident at Freya's home one night seasons ago and it soon became a highly anticipated meeting amongst them. There was only one rule for Gossip Night: don't let the anyone else know about the meetings or what went on in the meetings.

They chattered amongst each other as they happily relayed something they discovered about another villager or saw something humorous happen during the day as was the usual way the meeting went. Sometimes the meetings got silly: one night, they all discovered Sherry should never drink. She had taken one glass of red wine and had started going off about her father's cooking, claiming it to be a crime against nature and humanity. Another time Sherry made a tall claim about how her eyes caught a raven-haired woman who had seemed to come out from behind the waterfall. Startled the woman had run back inside and Sherry ran after her only to run into solid rock. That was the night the other girls had unanimously decided to keep Sherry away from the wine.

* * *

As the night went on and the women slowly departed one by one, Freya found herself walking home with Chelsea. It had been a silent walk for most of the way, both women tired from their night of excitement and their day of hard work. As they neared Freya's own home, Chelsea broke the silence, "There's been something I wanted to tell you but I couldn't at the meeting."

For a moment, Freya worried that the news would be something bad. She didn't know what it could possibly be, but it couldn't have been good. But Chelsea's face seemed a bit perplexed, like she had been putting together a puzzle. Freya decided it couldn't be too awful. "What is it?"

"Do you remember when you told me about your idol?" Freya nodded, once again remembering the day Freya met the woman she idolized more than anyone else...

* * *

It had been the dead of winter and a blizzard was approaching Zephyr Town. While most villagers had decided to stay comfy in their home, Freya had charged full steam ahead to work in the city that day. She was a career woman and her career was most important to her, followed by her health. She repeated that mantra in her mind, hoping to will away the cold from her hands as she hugged herself trying to stay warm, walking down the street towards her workplace.

Finally just a mere crosswalk away from her destination, Freya had cursed her fate as the streetlight had turned red on her, forcing her to stay out in the cold longer. As she waited, a black car had parked right beside her and Freya watched in awe as a woman had stepped out, followed by two men who seemed to be at her beck and call.

She stood tall and commanding in six-inch heels, her navy business suit matching her navy, bob-styled hair framing her face. The wind had been gusting around and Freya's hair was a perfect mess, but Freya couldn't stop watching the scene unfold before her. Not even a hair of the business woman's was out of place, and the cold didn't seem to affect this mystery person one bit. She nodded in answer to one of her attendants rambling about a customer, while her violet eyes scanned a clipboard waiting for her second attendant to finish getting all their supplies out of the car. Just as Freya decided the woman hadn't hear a word the first one had said, she snapped her clipboard shut and started responding to him, deciding their "next step". She then proceeded to shout at the second man, insisting he hurry up since time was short. Just a moment later thanks to the increased pace of the second man, the three had walked off a few steps down the street and into the building Freya could only assume was their workplace.

Freya was impressed. She didn't know who this person was, but to Freya, she was amazing. She was everything Freya dreamed of being. A powerful boss of a powerful company, commanding the respect of those around her. This woman put her career first and it had paid off handsomely. Freya secretly wished to learn from this woman. If she could only become half as amazing as she was, Freya's aspirations would be fulfilled. But the difference between the two seemed gigantic. Freya tried to recall the last time she had raised her voice to anyone and had come up empty. She could never yell at another person before. It wasn't in her.

As so, as the days went on, Freya would try as much as she could to keep tabs on the mystery woman. She never dared to approach her, but she liked to watch through her window at work and see if she could catch her on the street. She had even wanted to cut and style her hair in the same fashion, but she had been convinced not to by Chelsea. It did take quite a bit of convincing, however.

Yes, this woman was Freya's idol, no doubt. She had never learned her mystery woman's name, but Freya wanted to be just like her one day. It would just be quite a mountain to climb. Freya still hadn't even worked up the nerve to start up a conversation with her.

* * *

Snapping back to reality, Freya nodded to Chelsea, prompting her confused friend to continue. "Well, I think I know who she is..." and Chelsea decided to discuss a recent encounter she had with Antoinette's father, Claude.

Claude had spoken happily about his wife, who worked in the city. She was a powerful woman with navy bob-styled hair and strong, violet eyes. Her attitude resembled Antoinette's but was much more forceful, Antoinette having been mellowed by the casual lifestyle of Zephyr Town and her mother spending all her time in the city. She was in control of a powerful company, and always had two men at her beck and call, three if her husband was there.

When Chelsea had finished her story, Freya was confused. "Okay, but what does that have to do with my idol?"

Chelsea stood still for a minute, not knowing what to say. She was hoping Freya would put the pieces of the puzzle together herself, but it seemed Freya would need a little push. "Your idol had navy hair didn't she? So does Antoinette's mother..."

Freya stared at Chelsea for another minute, thinking about what her friend had just said. "Does she have violet eyes too?"

"Yes."

"Oh..." Freya said absent-mindedly, before it finally sunk in. "_Oh..._"

Chelsea nodded to Freya, knowing she had finally realized what she'd been trying to tell her. "Antoinette is apparently like a mini-version of her mother. Even down to her personality."

Freya's mind was spinning. The woman she idolized, the woman she was modelling her future on, the woman she felt she could never be like because their personalities were so different. She was a friend's mother. A forceful friend's mother. Antoinette was like her mother, but a bit more friendly. In other words...

"..I should try to be like Antoinette first and then like her mother." Freya said aloud, proud of her conclusion. Small steps after all. "Thanks, Chelsea."

Chelsea nodded slowly, before walking back towards her own home. "Right...that wasn't what I was trying to...uh...glad to be of help."

Freya smiled as she closed the door to her home. Yes, if she could be like Antoinette, she could definitely be like Antoinette's mother. And her dream could be realized. First thing tomorrow, she'd have to ask Antoinette where she got her dress...

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you liked this one. It ended up much different than I originally intended, but I like this version a bit better, since the first version came off rather sloppy. Since Freya considers herself a career woman who works in the city, and Claude's wife also works in the city, I think it'd be quite amusing if Freya found herself unknowingly idolizing her. Of course, if Claude's wife is like a super version of Antoinette, I can only assume that Freya would have a hard time emulating her, since their personalities are so different, so she would consider trying to be like Antoinette first, which is a (slightly) easier adjustment.


End file.
